This vintage always benefits in a vertical from coming after the 2013, but no question that this is a excellent wine with dark fleshy fruits and slate-textured tannins. Confident powerful, nuanced, rich, balanced. A signature St Julien vintage, with smoked cigar box from the opening notes, balanced but expands and rises from the mid palate onwards. 50% new oak. 94 points

The 2014 Saint-Pierre has the most fruit-driven bouquet of the flight of Saint Julien wines with copious red cherries, boysenberry and fig-like scents. It certainly is the one with the immediate appeal rather than intrinsic complexity. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, quite solid tannin that provide good backbone to support the weight of fruit. There is a lot of extraction here but everything remains nicely proportioned and there is more than enough freshness towards the finish. This should not be under-estimated and it will provide long-term drinking pleasure. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2020 - 2045. 93 points